Tech Briefing

By John Zyskowski

Can we avoid telework train wrecks?

Finally, thanks in no small part to the recent Telework Enhancement Act, it looks like a lot more government offices will be giving telework a try. Previously resistant managers are coming on board (for the moment, anyway), identifying positions for telework eligibility, dealing with equipment needs, and developing agreements about employee performance and expectations.

Of course, most telework programs start with the best of intentions, but not all march on to meet great success. Employees who abuse the telework privilege with lackluster performance hurt productivity and can poison office morale. They can also jeopardize management support for the telework program. Sometimes managers have to work with poorly conceived telework policies, so they lack tools that could help them bring wayward employees in line.

So, tell us, what are some of the mistakes that employees or their managers can make with telework? And what can they do to avoid falling into the same traps?

Readers who have commented on past FCW stories about telework have mentioned some of the problems that can arise.

One mistake mentioned is the teleworker who isn’t responsive to communications from managers and co-workers. “I have been constantly frustrated and so have others in my division when you try to contact (phone/email) a teleworker for immediate answers/assistance and they do not respond quickly,” wrote one reader.

And what can managers do for their part to make telework a success? One reader said managers should give telework a chance but should also be ready to rein it in if it’s not working. “A manager must immediately send a clear signal and not give so much as 1/64th of an inch but yank the privilege upon the slightest infraction. When employees know that they will not be allowed to take advantage of a given situation, they quickly fall in line.”

But some managers don’t have this kind of power. They talk about being hamstrung by policies that don’t allow them to revoke telework privileges, even when some employees are clearly abusing them. “As a manager I should have the authority to approve or deny telework should there be an upcoming holiday,” writes one reader. “Employees go through the calendar and always telework prior to and following a holiday — [that] should not be allowed.”

So what do you think? What are the problems that can undermine telework programs, and how can they be avoided? What kinds of policies do managers need to make telework successful? Please share your comments below.

The GAO director of information technology issues is leaving government after 16 years. On his way out the door, Dave Powner details how far govtech has come in the past two decades and flags the most critical issues he sees facing federal IT leaders.